The invention relates to liquid dispensing apparatus and to apparatus for preserving perishable liquids once opened. More specifically, the invention is concerned with apparatus for dispensing liquid contents from a single bottle, using gas pressure admitted through the neck of the bottle, and to a series of components which may be used for this purpose or separated for use in other purposes.
Devices for driving the contents of a bottle through a dispensing spout, using gas pressure, are known. As a primary example, an apparatus sold under the trademark Cruvinet has been sold for commercial use in bars, restaurants and wine tasting rooms, for dispensing wine from a series of opened wine bottles using N.sub.2 gas pressure administered to all of the bottles via a central pressure source. In the Cruvinet apparatus, the centrally dispersed gas is delivered through tubes to each of the bottles, extending through a neck-sealing stopper inserted into each bottle. Pressure from the source is constantly maintained in each of the bottles. On each bottle, the stopper has a valve which can be opened to admit liquid up from a tube which extends to the bottom of the bottle and passes through a second opening in the stopper. At least in theory, the apparatus was capable of keeping liquids such as wines from oxidation after opening, by leaving the stoppers in place and the dispensing gas for the liquid in each bottle, until the next usage.
It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a simplified liquid dispensing apparatus, useful with a single bottle of a product such as wine, and involving a gas dispenser which can be removed and used for other purposes.